I have been praying for direction, and this morning came across this verse: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits the false prophets who are following their own imaginations and have seen nothing at all! ~ Ezekiel 13:3 A sobering reminder to wait on God and not invent my own map. Who is among you that fears the Lord, that obeys the voice of His servant, that walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with firebrands, walk in the light of your fire and among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: you will lie down in torment. ~ Isaiah 50:10-11 Even when I don't have light showing the next step, I can still trust in the name of the Lord! He does have a plan, and I don't want to stray from it. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. ~ Isaiah 48:17 Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. ~ Isaiah 30:21 When I don't have light, I need to close my eyes and listen for a still, small Voice. Listen for my next mission. Because I choose to accept it.
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Adoption. It's been on my heart for years--in my inspirations and dreams and gratefulness to the God who adopted me. Here is the video where a young woman shares what adoption means to her life: http://www.faithit.com/when-she-was-born-her-parents-were-at-the-circus-heres-why-thats-awesome/ Yet not once, but twice (and the day isn't over!) I have come across (and gravitated toward) the subject. Here is a post I read today of a man who has and is experiencing adoption on multiple levels: http://jasonjohnsonblog.com/blog/the-generational-effects-of-adoption The truths he shares resonate deep inside me. So instead of reiterating what he has already beautifully expressed, I've simply included the link so you can go read it yourself. (Please.) I don't know exactly in what form adoption will be a part of my own life, but I'm excited about it anyway! This year has been busy so far! Twelve states, four films, two festivals, and one family wedding later, I am more than ready for a time out from the rush. Travel takes a toll. Long hours come with interest. The reserves I have spent are blinking on empty, clamoring for a refuel stop. So I stop. Immune systems can only stay strong for so long without extra support. I listen, and I rest, and address deficiencies. I am tired at odd times, and so I nap. This season too will pass, so it too will I savor; It is a gift. The last few days I have relaxed into the quietness, the un-scheduled increments of activity flowing gently past like improvised melody, washing my soul of striving. My body rebuilds its inner strength, and already my creative process is rousing, reviving from the press of specific and constant expectations. Thus far I have unpacked, thoroughly reorganized my room (yes, including the closet), and completed a few DIY projects along the way! Is it crazy that I'm now planning a trip to visit/volunteer on a film set for a week--starting a week from now? I'll rest some more after.... I promise! This is my first post on the fresh face of my blog! I do like the new look. It's also feels more streamlined to have it incorporated into my main website. Some things, like this one, change by our own choosing. We end chapters in favor of a brighter prospect, and put in the effort necessary to make the transition. Other changes come by the will of another, some for good and some for ill, and we then "recalculate" our route to best get back on track toward our ultimate goal, though perhaps by a different road. Still more change is brought simply by passage of time--this steady ticking of chronological progression that brings us to forks and bridges in our life paths. By one impetus or another, and sometimes combinations of these, change does come. Change is exhilarating. Change is frustrating. Change is beautifully inevitable. I myself often experience a convoluted reaction, leaving me dancing between a swirl of leaves, their cherished colors fading, and the bare branches of unseen promise. I learn I must die to live. Like a hermit crab searching for a new shell because the old no longer fits, or a snake shedding its skin to reveal the new, so I must embrace the vulnerability of leaving behind the past to live Today in the place God has me. I find myself grieving sometimes over a loss, forgetting that "it came to pass", and what is yet in store has its own wonderfulness. It is not wrong to remember, but when the remembering bleeds into a habit of discontent, it is evidence of my focus having turned horribly inward. If the past was hurtful, remember God's grace to move on. If the chapter closing was beautiful, smile because it happened, and trust for more beauty among life's ashes. Because it is there. Oh, it is there! Do not scorn the unfolding of the fresh rose in favor of fragrant dried petals. Should I not choose to relish the daily discovery of the new gifts God has given? Rejoice in the sure promise of those to come? I want to live in thankfulness for simply being a part of His story. He is the master of great story, and the end is already foretold. If a chapter ends in suspense or leaves characters (even me!) in a position of difficulty, surely it will be resolved! We can rest in the knowledge that this next page will draw us ever nearer to the glorious finish line. Will the last chapter leave us hanging? I don't know; but I've heard it on good authority that there is a sequel.... So times change. Circumstances change. We change. And always the old gives way to new, and everything seems different now. Good different? That's partly up to us. Every day there are new choices, and the paths we take lead to the next choices. Don't let what is past keep you from the right choice for Today! Yes, I am an actress. Yet this is real life. Are these not the roles we "live" for? Complex, heartbreakingly real characters. People who encounter both obstacles and opportunities, sorrow and joy, pain and healing. These show us that there is something, Someone, greater than ourselves or our own personal drama. I am grateful to be a sketching of His grace. We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us....We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed....Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4) Wise words written by my grandfather on June 5th, 2000.
"To hope is to believe in the possibility, however slim, that things will change. It is to believe that given patience and time one can endure whatever may come before one’s situation improves and that things promised or principles held will eventually prevail. To hope is to trust in the outcome no matter how costly or difficult the way, to hold on to one’s beliefs in spite of all indications to the contrary. Hope is that state of belief that enables all one’s resources to be focused on an outcome deemed impossible by all human odds whether that outcome is fulfilled in one’s lifetime or beyond. Hope transcends time and events. Hope is the catalyst that triggers energy you did not know you had, to do what you didn’t know you could, in situations you never knew you’d face. Hope is the connecting rod between faith and fulfillment. Hope is grounded in the unchanging One who validates our faith in his sovereign will. Hope stands between what we believe and the Eternal God in whom we believe to enable us to love even when there is no earthly reason for us to love." Today is a good day. Because I'm with God, and he is with me. Tomorrow will be a good day. Because even if I change and/or circumstances go crazy around me, God is still the same--good. And he won't leave me. I love this God that loves and buys what this world says is worthless. He breathes his life into our mess, and creates beauty from ashes. He sees our confusion, our fallenness from his glorious plan, and reaches out. He does what we cannot, and the result is grace. How can we please him? By trusting, believing to the core of our soul that what he did trumps our black hole of debt.
By knowing that he is. And that he is ever and always enough. I love this God that knows my pain and heals the wounds I am afraid to touch, binds my heart-fractures with his comfort. Bids me rest in his peace as he knits me back together in wholeness. In quietness I wait. Listening. Hearing. His dear whisper speaks deeper than any voice I've ever known. And his words are very life to me. What does he desire of me? This I want to give. A broken, repentant heart...to cherish his presence...pursue truth and kindness...to love as he loves. I love this God who sees each life he created as infinitely precious. Worth living. Worth loving. Worth dying for to save. Who else gazes on this darkness of rebellion and deceit and decides to send his greatest treasure to rescue a stray sheep? A stray flock? A stray human race? And one of those sheep was I. You drew near when I called on you; you said, "Do not fear!" O Lord, you have pleaded my soul’s cause; you have redeemed my life. ~ Lamentations 3:57-58 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. ~ 1 Corinthians 6:20 Nope, I didn't take this. It's, uh, random, I guess. But I think it's pretty! Late nights are the perfect timing for lame puns. Enter the current post title.... But then, I've been handling a lot of late nights lately. Not abnormally late, mind you. But when even somewhat late becomes normal, is that truly the new normal? In which case I don't suppose it would count as "late" after all. (See what I mean?) On a more serious note, let me explain my most recent, if brief, abandonment of the dear blog, and a potential outcome that may result of, how shall I say this—a regular occurrence of late nights. Read: more and steady film work this year. In fact, I'm already working on my second feature of 2013, and have two more in the works! To not drop off the face of blog-world altogether, in the absence of saner rhyme and reason, you may expect to see randomness from me about the intricacies of my trade/s...from random locations...at random intervals. But, at least you'll know I'm still alive. Sort of. zzzzzZZZzzzzzzzzzZZzzzzz.... Hello again! I worked on another film production last month (Surrender), so haven't kept up the ol' blog as closely as I'd thought I might so far this year. I just got back from a well-known Christian film festival held in San Antonio, TX, where over 2000 people gathered to appreciate each other's months and years invested in stories they were inspired to bring to life on the screen, and forge or strengthen partnerships and teams for the next project down the road. This particular festival has a specific and clearly expressed goal of publicly recognizing and honoring films that are excellent, meaningful, and affirming of Biblical values. Our society has been deluged with a constant stream of media, to the point where many don't even pretend to be discerning in what they feed their minds, their souls on. Art and entertainment have never been neutral. Newscasters and filmmakers (the storytellers of our day) are not so much reflections, but rather shapers of culture around them, not only by the way they present their stories (based on fictional or real events), but more importantly by the sort of stories they choose to spend their finite time on this earth telling. As the audience, we are also choosing who we will become both by how we ingest stories and simply which stories we take in. Last week at the festival I was greatly encouraged by the stories I saw being told. Stories that I believe will change lives, that will give people hope, and the courage to then participate in giving hope to others. Two films I had a part in working on were screened: Indescribable and Alone Yet Not Alone. It was my first time seeing either one, which made it even more exciting. The two other films I had a chance to see (between hours upon hours of speaking with various filmmakers and attendees) were Return to the Hiding Place, which won Best Feature, and The Drop Box, a documentary which won two big awards: Sanctity of Life category winner, and the Grand Jubilee Prize for Best of Festival ($101,000). I saw it at the Thursday showing, and in my opinion The Drop Box was well worthy of the win. (trailer: http://www.dropbox-movie.com/trailer.html) I haven't found it available for purchase anywhere yet, but when it is, I'm going to acquire a copy! If Return to the Hiding Place comes to a theater near you (next month or so?), I recommend it as well. The awards ceremony was fabulous, and the last portion was especially moving. Below is a video that will help give you a taste of it. “I’d rather tell the plainest truth with $100,000 than the most sophisticated technological lie with $10 million or $100 million.” The 22-year-old young man who made The Drop Box has a deep vision for producing media that will present Truth. Truth is not popular or politically correct, but it is powerful in the best of ways. We must study, prepare, work and pray to handle the Word of Truth honorably, in humility and reverence toward God, not mens' opinions. Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:1-2 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. ~ 2 Timothy 2:15 Stories matter, and they are worth telling well. Speaking of which, I'm actually heading out this week to go help on the script development team for another film. I'd very much appreciate your prayers for clarity, creativity, and wisdom as we work on characters, themes, plot arcs, and all the other strands that weave together to make a coherent and compelling narrative. For now, I'll leave you with a favorite song: What is a man to do when he finds himself on the right side of the law, but on the wrong side of truth? That is the question framed in Remember, a fascinating new film from father/son team Greg and Dallas Lammiman. Remember brings us to the year 2050. In the aftermath of economic collapse the State has assumed authority over all spheres of life. Couples are matched to produce their quota of children, which are raised by state professionals from infancy until the point that they, too, enter the workforce. To foster compliance the adult citizenry are prescribed a memory-suppressant drug "to help relieve stress." The new socionomic system is carefully balanced, constantly monitored, and strictly enforced. Capt. Carl Onoway (Justin Lewis) works for the Child Protection Agency. His job is to locate and prosecute insurgents, especially those who attempt to abduct children from the state facilities. One day Carl's routine is rocked by a strange message insisting that he remember and begin to make a difference. Further messages and encounters persuade him to rethink all he has believed. Enter a clever twist on dual identity. Continuing to take the drug on weekdays only, he unwittingly uses his classified status at work to feed information to his weekend self, when he secretly works against the state to reunite parents with their children. His days "on the pill" become increasingly frustrating as his efforts to catch the mysterious new criminal continually come up short. Then a new law is passed—a law that puts his own wife and children in imminent danger. With the police-like CPA hot on his double trail, Carl must risk everything to rescue his family before it is too late. Stories have a way of teaching us what we know in a way we haven't known it before. They also create valuable questions by helping us experience through fictional characters what decisions we might or might not make. If I were Carl, would I have the courage to remember? Would I choose to give up the life I know for the sake of a long-lost truth that society rejects? In our world today, even with as messed up as some laws are, certain values have remained marvelously (well, mostly) intact. Family is still celebrated. Separating a newborn from it's mother without cause is still horrifying. Witnessing a surprise reunion of a military father with their young child wells sympathetic tears of joy. In the world of Remember, the antithesis is preached. The God-given instinct to fight for the preservation of family is not tolerated, and living as a family is illegal. Religion is replaced with ideological pillars, the first and chief of which is "No father shall know his child, and no child shall know his father," a quote from none other than--gasp!—Plato of ancient Greece. The contrast is startling, because in subtle ways our culture is set on a path to this same year 2050. And the responsibility is sobering. Because we intuit that the present is when we must prevent this future. The filmmakers managed their resources well: filmed on location in Alberta, Canada with a budget of only four thousand dollars, the Lammimans created a feel of about one hundred times that. The visual effects strike a good balance and are neither mind-blowing nor distracting. The harsh lighting fits the target environment. Costumes are simple yet communicate effectively. A few performances tasted off, but the main cast is fairly solid. Unfortunately, multiple scenes suffer from poor (location) sound; the score, however, does an admirable job of supporting the story-arc. The set up lacks bang, but the pacing picks up, and lighter moments bubble into the plot appropriately. From script to release was just over a year (that's a fast turnaround, in case you're wondering), and I am impressed with the results. Check out the bonus features on the DVD; this team made up for in ingenuity what they lacked in experience. If you have the gumption to make a feature with what most people scrape together for a local music video, remember Remember and forget the naysayers. Overall, I give this film a thumbs up rating of three out of five stars. As a first feature from a new indie company, this is a brilliant beginning. If you like sci-fi and/or love your family and/or hope to have one someday (does that cover everyone?), I heartily recommend seeing it! Quick Links Movie Trailer/Website: http://theremembermovie.com/Remember/home.html Buy the DVD: http://www.moviemakers.ca/store/#remember-store Official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RememberMovie?ref=ts&fref=ts IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294789/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2 Parent guide: Highly recommended for ages 13+. I suggest that parents preview the movie and use discretion before showing it to younger children. Positive values are highly affirmed. An excellent catalyst for family/group discussion afterward! More details below . . . . (SPOILER ALERT!!) Sensuality = None. Language = None. Suspense = It's there, but most 10-year-olds I know could handle it. My grandma loved this movie, but was on the edge of her seat almost constantly. Violence = Low. No blood. Guns shoot laser beams that stun or occasionally kill, police sticks buzz an electric current upon contact, and an injection-like dose of the memory-blocking drug renders people temporarily unconscious. Drugs = Memory-blocking pills resembling vitamins are taken almost daily; these are commonly referred to as "MemRelief," but occasionally as "[prescription] drugs." Other = Topics mentioned include pregnancy, birth, sterilization, abortion, eugenics, and withdrawal. Flashback/visions might be disturbing for a younger audience. Also, during one scene, children start screaming (first from surprise, and then mostly because everyone else is); the scene is intended to be more funny than scary, but if your child tends to imitate, please exercise caution. ;) Feel free to ask questions or comment below. Happy New Year! Below is a poem I wrote a couple of years back to highlight what the fuss should really all be about. Please feel free to share it! What's the good news for if not to "tell it on the mountain, over the hills, and everywhere"? God With Us (c)2010 Rebekah Cook Today we celebrate an event by Jewish prophets foretold Anticipated and long-awaited by both the young and old Today is when we commemorate our divine Savior's birth And the hour that marked his entrance as a Son of Man on earth What made this so wondrous and so marvelous an affair A time so worth remembering for year upon mortal year? What made this little infant boy attract the rapt attention Of local shepherds and eastern kings, and not some other men? His birth announcement was proclaimed by mass angelic song Accompanied by starlight bursts as heaven joined the throng They spoke of this natal miracle in majestic harmony Declaring his identity and royal pedigree: "The essence of Love incarnate, immortal Truth revealed The exact representation of the Father, approved and sealed The Word of God made very man and draped in human flesh Eternal Lord of all creation, Son of righteousness." The Light of all the world had come to seek and save the lost The Source of Life to ransom us—HIS life is what it cost The blameless, stainless Lamb of God was stained with sin's full cup As the Prince of Peace paid purchase price for what we'd given up Emmanuel! God with us! Bask in that most glorious thought Our Champion came to rescue us, and won the fight He fought Who could've known? Who would've guessed the baby who came that night Was the very One to take our mixed-up world and make it right? This is the news that bears repeating, and begs to be spread well The Shaper of the universe has come to us to dwell He lived and died, yet lives today (He conquered death, you know) To offer all who come to Him redemption's joyful glow Our Counselor, Teacher, Comforter, Healer—Jesus is his name The Holy One, the Risen One of everlasting fame The reason for the season is not merely a story we tell It's a Person that makes my heart swell with a gladness none can quell! As we revel in the wonder of Jesus' first coming and eagerly anticipate his return, may we follow in his steps of undaunted faith, contagious joy, and sacrificial love. Merry Christmas to you and yours! |
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